Popular eaterie in east Belfast closes due to ‘high expenses’

A POPULAR restaurant in east Belfast has announced its closure due to “impossibly high expenses” and staffing concerns.

Broker in Ballyhackamore joins a number of other restaurants across Northern Ireland that have been forced to close their doors in recent days.

The Sooty Olive in Derry, which picked up an award for Best Emerging Irish Cuisine at the Irish Restaurants Awards last year, announced its closure yesterday due to “ever increasing costs”. It will close permanently this Sunday after 11 years.

Meanwhile, Clenaghans based on the Soldierstown Road near Aghalee in Co Antrim said it will close at the end of this month.

Despite Broker opening in October 2022, owner Peter McCloskey, who also owns Belfast’s Olivers chain, is now closing the restaurant saying it “has never been harder”.

“It’s too hard to get quality staff here in Northern Ireland,” he said. “If we had the staff here that they have in other countries the industry would be totally different.

“Here, it is seen as a luxury to go to a restaurant but working in one is seen as just a casual job.”

Mr Mccloskey feels the government can and should provide restaurants with greater support.

He said rate relief and reducing VAT to 13.5% from 20% (the rate for the hospitality and tourism sector in the Republic of Ireland) would help business owners.

“Restaurants in GB are paying discounted rates and down south the VAT is much more manageable — places here have such impossibly high expenses and then people can’t afford to eat out,” he said.

This comes as a Craigavon cafe shared its rates bill for 2024/25 totalling £71,041.14.

Number Seven, which is located in Rushmere Shopping Centre, shared a photograph of its bill showing a payment plan of £7,104.15 a month.

Meanwhile, Mr Mccloskey described Belfast as a “one-night city” as many businesses can’t afford to open full-time.

He fears that if something isn’t done to support restaurants in the city soon, more independent businesses will close.

“The rates are just far too high here, you have to bring in an awful lot of money to make any money,” he said. “We are heading to a place where the only restaurants that can afford the rates in Belfast are chain restaurants, and that’s not what we want — we want to see talented and creative chefs in the city.”

Despite the challenges within the industry Mr Mccloskey doesn’t want to discourage anyone from opening a restaurant.

Chef Chris Hayden plans to take over the unit where Broker resided. “He is a very talented chef and he has a lot of ideas he wants to showcase, he is the head chef at a hotel at the minute but having your own restaurant means you can put your stamp on things and do it the way you want to,” Mr Mccloskey said.

He added that Mr Hayden can offer customers in east Belfast a great menu and has a supportive staff around him.

“He is a good chef and he has good chefs who want to work under him, you need a good staff to offer customers food they are willing to pay for and he will have that,” Mr Mccloskey said.